𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫

The Tree House

 "Wait up!" My voice echoed through the woods surrounding our little cottage, and my mothers' laughter rang out ahead. It had been a two full weeks since we'd been here, and we still hadn't found that hideout.

 We'd been enjoying a swim in the creek to escape the summer heat when someone, I couldn't remember who, had splashed someone and declared an all out splash war. We'd been giggling and squealing like children whenever we got wet.

 Now, with the cool leaves and branches overhead to keep out most of the heat, and us feeling nice and fresh, we'd stopped our game, and had began a slow walk through the trees, Nadia having suggested we find that hideout once and for all.

 I jogged a bit to catch up, folding my arms and tilting my face up to the sky. The beauty of this place was really growing on me, and I couldn't help but feel a little more at home every day.

 "Where could it be?" Elanor wondered out loud.

 Nadia smiled and rolled her dark eyes. "Honey, you need to be patient."

 Elanor glanced back at her with raised brows, and a beat of silence passed before we all burst out laughing, knowing that Elanor being patient was not possible.

 The forest looked alive in rich shades of greens under the golden rays of the sun, and the moss covering this part of the path squished under our feet like an emerald carpet. "It can't be too far," Elanor commented, though she honestly didn't look too annoyed about spending more time here. It was really peaceful... The complete opposite of our former life. 

 As we delved deeper into the woods, the shade grew, and the hairs on the back of my neck raised, making me reach for the sketch that now lay next to the stone in my sweater pocket. I wasn't sure what it was, but something urged me to look back.

 There was something glittering on the edge of the path. My breath caught, and I glanced back at my moms, who were deep in conversation about how we should decorate the living room and whether or not we should buy an extra bookshelf.

 I stopped, looking back at the glittering object. "I'll... I'll catch up with you." I called, not hearing their reply before striding back down the path.

 It was... A leaf. But it looked and felt like pure silver, shining brightly under the sun. It was ice cold, too, and as I turned it over in my palm I saw today's date. And a time. It was a message. A message that couldn't possibly be directed at me.

 Could it?

 A twig snapped behind me and I whirled around, dropping the leaf. There was nothing there. And as I turned back to the spot where I was sure the leaf had fallen, I found it empty too. It had disappeared, as it had never existed.

 "Wren! What are you doing?" Nadia's voice drifted through the trees towards me, snapping me out of it.

 I couldn't shake that feeling that something strange was going to happen. Again.

 "Coming!" I shouted back, running to catch up, with the word midnight imprinted in the back of my brain.

_____________

 A cold wind swept through the forest, chilling me to the bone even through my thick sweater. I'd worn my thick boots tonight, as the weather got strangely cold. I'd strapped on my old watch, and, glancing down, I saw that I still had five minutes until midnight.

 I didn't like lying to my moms about sneaking out - they thought I was sound asleep in bed. But I was used to not telling them too much about my dreams or "hallucinations" as the doctors called it. I didn't want to freak them out. Or worse. For them to think there might actually be something wrong with me.

 I'd left my little sketch of the doc on my nightstand, replacing it with the stone I'd found, with the drawing of the boy, feeling for the first time the weight of carrying my sketch around with me. I felt much lighter now, as if I'd been holding a piece of darkness everywhere I went.

 I rounded a bend in the path, arriving at the spot I'd picked up the leaf, the crescent moon seeming to fade away and cast everything in darkness. Not a sound could be heard but my own uneven breathing. It was so dark, I could see nothing but the shadows of the trees surrounding me.

 I stood still. Waiting.

 A warm, golden light appeared up ahead, deep in the trees. It was like a flame bursting to life. Strange as it seemed, I wasn't scared, and I couldn't explain why. Was it curiosity or something more? Leaves and pine needles crunched under my shoes as I wove between trees, walking faster now towards the golden... arrow?! It was pointing. As if, it was telling me where to go. Further into the forest, and away from the path. I squinted, trying to see if there was anything else out there. I brought my hand up to the arrow, expecting my fingers to go through it. Instead, when my hand reached the arrow, a sudden wave of energy passed through me. It was unstable and unpredictable. It felt like... magic.

 Another arrow flared in the distance. I perked up instantly and began wading deeper and deeper into the woods, drifting further and further from the path at my back.

_____________

 The arrows led me through the forest, into zones I didn't even know were there, until they stopped, and I was once again engulfed in darkness.

 A ring of light flared into existence, little golden particles floating in the air around me. It was a giant ring of glowing mushrooms, encircling an old, wooden-

 Tree house!

 Everything seemed to glow, the air practically crackling. The moon too, had an orange glow, illuminating the little clearing, the stars sparkling in the night sky. The tree house, the clearing, everything  rippled with energy, and I felt completely connected.

 Like with the golden arrows, I didn't know why, but I felt I must step into the ring of glowing  mushrooms. And when I did, I noticed the stone in my pocket began to glow as well.

 As I entered the unknown once again, I found myself brought back to that first night, the night I stepped into the boat.